E-Commerce Middleware vs E-Commerce Order Management

E-commerce middleware is a modernized way to automate purchase-to-fulfillment with API-first connectivity. For developers, middleware is an accessible tool that can connect website sales orders to your ERP or accounting system. For e-commerce companies selling on a single website or a couple marketplaces, e-commerce middleware customizations can help automate order workflows. In more omnichannel environments, sellers are selecting order management systems that come with preconfigured connections, rules engines and fully managed order ecosystems. 

What is E-Commerce Middleware

E-commerce middleware acts as a translation layer between systems, helping them communicate information about order placement, processing, and fulfillment. Sellers use it to connect channels like Shopify and Amazon to their back-end systems such as NetSuite or QuickBooks. Without middleware, each connection would require custom integrations which expose fragile workflows and constant maintenance. Overall, middleware can drastically speed up operations and reduce the costs associated with custom IT builds. 

While middleware promises "plug-and-play", it still requires developers to map data, manage exceptions and maintain integrations as systems change.

Traditional middleware

Middleware is any software that helps systems talk to each other including on-prem tools, message queues, custom APIs, and integration layers that required heavy developer involvement to build, maintain, and scale.

iPaaS

iPaaS is cloud-based middleware delivered as a service with connectors and a managed infrastructure, but it still requires configuration, mapping, error handling, and ongoing maintenance. The platform provides a way to move data, but your team defines and configures the logic.

Most modern solutions embrace the API-first world with point-to-point integrations where IT teams can build a connection fairly quickly. For companies selling on a Shopify store, connecting eCommerce with point-to-point integrations can be managed. But imagine what happens when the same business wants to expand to selling on Walmart, Amazon, and dozens of other channels? The point-to-point integrations for each become expensive, timely and make systems slow.

The issue with Point-to-Point Connections

Even with modern iPaaS tools, data solely moves from point A to point B. It sends an order from Shopify into NetSuite. What it doesn't do is ensure other channels haven't already added inventory to cart. Middleware doesn't apply customer-level pricing or catalogs in B2B. It can't apply warehouse and shipping logic. All those rules end up manually managed, or become expensive IT projects on top of the iPaaS you're already paying for. 

What is Order Management?

Order management involves all the people, processes and systems involved in taking an item from ‘ordered’ to ‘fulfilled’. Every step from a customer placing the order to it being delivered has to be meticulously synchronized, especially with modern consumer expectations. With 80% of consumers wanting same-day delivery, optimizing order management has become paramount in staying competitive in an increasingly saturated market. 

Today, buyers’ purchasing habits are influenced by instant gratification - millennials are notoriously busy and aren’t interested in waiting for delivery times, in fact, they’re up to 3 times more likely to pay extra for same-day delivery and prioritize delivery times in their purchasing decisions. 

Order Management Systems (OMS), provide a digital way to handle all the complex processes involved in order operations. The acts as a central hub to orchestrate orders across sales channels, websites, brick-and-mortar, POS and more. 

Middleware vs Order Management in Ecommerce 

For many sellers, custom development work through e-commerce middleware can seem like the 'quick fix', especially compared to traditional order management systems (OMS), which comes with a hefty price tag. 

Modern Order Management Systems offer a new alternative where a no code configurations exist within a composable-first ecosystem that doesn't force on modules that e-commerce sellers don't make use of. 

Instead of development teams working on connections between channels and back-end systems, everything is pre-configured. In this model, the OMS acts as a mediator between endpoints, synching all systems in real-time so deliveries are quick and inventory is automatically updated. 

As an example, say you’re a pet food manufacturer supplying dog owners with a budget-friendly, high-quality alternative to premium brands. Knowing that your target market, Millennials, like the hybrid brick-and-mortar and digital buying experience, you need to expand your channel strategy. Being a digital early adopter, you’re using a Middleware-Enhanced OMS to connect with API-first channels but it’s time to expand to retail stores that aren’t as advanced as your current trading ecosystem. At best, they use EDI and at worst they use PDFs to order, meaning your once automated order management just became increasingly manual. The hyper-modernized OMS, optimized for digital selling, doesn’t take into account that you need OCR processing of PDF’s or digital scraping of CSV or Excel files, as well as EDI connectivity in addition to the API-first connections they provide. 

The OrderEase Difference 

OrderEase provides and Order Management System that automates across; eCommerce, dropshipping, DTC, wholesale B2B, and brick-and-mortar.  With OrderEase, you can expand your business and prioritize automation without compromising on speed all while controlling your products from one, centralized hub. See the difference OrderEase can make by scheduling a discovery call with one of our OMS specialists where we take the time to learn about your business needs.